Spellbound: Trombone 2
By Jack Wilds
Grade: 3
Item: 98-PC-DB1671_TN2
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Description
This enchanting, off-kilter waltz depicts shifting scenes at a magical ball. The work draws the audience in with a soft timpani roll at the beginning and builds momentum all the way to the conclusion. Musical lines dazzle and swirl about in this incredible salute to magic and mystery!
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Additional Details
Series:
FJH Concert Band
Publisher:
The FJH Music Company, Inc.
SKU:
98-PC-DB1671_TN2
More about this title
About the Composer: Jack Wilds
Jack Wilds composes across an unusually broad spectrum of ensembles and age groups, from children's choirs through professional orchestras. His catalog draws deliberate inspiration from visual art, literature, philosophy, and pure musical tradition, resulting in scores that challenge performers while remaining accessible. A former public school band director himself, he has published over 40 works for developing musicians, many of which appear on festival required lists across multiple continents.
Currently a lecturer at Texas State University teaching composition, theory, ear training, and music technology, Wilds remains deeply engaged with performance communities as a clinician and adjudicator. He studies composition with Michael Ippolito at Texas State and previously with Chris Trapani and Donald Grantham at the University of Texas. His chamber works have been championed by ensembles including the Attacca Quartet, the University of Texas New Music Ensemble, and members of the New York Philharmonic and Atlanta Symphony. Beyond academia, he serves as Co-Director of Music at First Presbyterian Church in San Marcos, a role he has maintained for over a decade alongside his wife Noel.
Why we love this
The off-kilter waltz structure immediately signals something beyond the standard Grade 3 repertoire while remaining entirely playable at this level. Wilds creates genuine forward momentum through accumulation rather than bombast, making this piece rewarding for conductors who want to teach ensemble building and architecture. Contest and festival directors will appreciate an opener or closer that genuinely captivates an audience from that first soft timpani roll.
What to expect
A waltz suspended in atmosphere, where the usual triple-meter predictability dissolves into shifting scenes of wonder and intrigue. Shimmering textures and swirling counterpoint evoke the particular magic of a ball where anything might happen, intimate and mysterious rather than grand or bombastic.
Who it's for
Grade 3 concert bands seeking repertoire with genuine dramatic arc and sophistication. This score engages developing musicians in authentic ensemble work while delivering a performance that resonates with any audience, making it equally suited to young groups and more experienced ensembles seeking inventive programming.
How to get the most out of it
- Shape the opening timpani roll with attention to dynamic control; this moment sets the entire character of the piece. Resist the urge to crescendo immediately, letting silence and soft sound do their work.
- Experiment with slight rhythmic flexibility in the waltz pulse during the shifting scenes. Wilds writes an "off-kilter" character intentionally, so mechanical precision can flatten the magic.
- Highlight the dazzling musical lines by balancing tutti sections against moments where individual choir voices emerge. This piece rewards clean voice leading at every dynamic level.
- Build momentum progressively through the form without losing the enchanted quality. The conclusion should feel inevitable rather than sudden.
How to use it
Open a concert with this piece to establish artistic ambition and capture immediate attention, or place it mid-program as a palate-clearing interlude between heavier works. Its contest and festival designation makes it equally valuable as a required-repertoire selection or as the anchor of a thematically cohesive program exploring musical storytelling and character.
Skills your students will build
- Executing soft dynamics with clarity and control, particularly in opening and closing passages
- Balancing multiple melodic lines in waltz meter
- Responding to flexible pulse and rhythmic nuance within a structured form
- Building ensemble momentum through cumulative musical architecture rather than individual volume
- Interpreting musical descriptive language (shifting scenes, swirling, dazzling) into ensemble choices